Percutaneous needle devices are used in a number of medical procedures, where access to body cavities or organs is desired. Such needle devices typically have a hollow shaft ending in a point, which serves to pierce the body tissue. After inserting the device to the target body cavity or organ, the hollow shaft may be used as a channel to take a fluid sample from the target site, aspirate, irrigate or deliver medicaments and other materials to the target site.
Despite the use of preliminary exploratory measuring procedures such as ultrasound and X-ray, it is extremely difficult for a medical professional to determine the positional relationship of the tip of the needle to an internal organ or body cavity to be treated. Moreover, blind percutaneous insertion of the needle device entails the risk of damaging blood vessels, puncturing organs, or tearing tissue as the needle is directed toward the target.
Typically, when percutaneous insertion of the treating instrument is desired, a puncture needle and a stylet are inserted in the target area without visualization of the piercing tip. Subsequently, the stylet is withdrawn and a multi-lumen endoscope or catherer are inserted. This may prolong and complicate the procedure, as well as cause inconvenience to a patient. Furthermore, as described above, initial unguided insertion of a puncture needle increases a risk of damaging blood vessels and internal organs.
While it is desirable that surgical instruments have a minimum diameter, the small diameter of instruments heretofore resulted in functional limitations. To overcome this deficiency, additional viewing instruments are often inserted to the target site. Such additional instruments, however, are typically too large to be successfully used in many medical procedures involving percutaneous devices.
It is, thus, desirable to provide a penetrating needle device that allows visualization of the target tissue simultaneous with application of diagnostic and treatment procedures. Thus, there is a need in the art for a low profile needle device capable of penetrating body tissues and enabling a medical professional to perform a number of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures percutaneously with a precise degree of control without resort to essentially blind approaches to the target tissue.